


Lion-Heart Are You Dreaming?

by Byrdybyrd



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Leadership, No Incest, No Sex, No Smut, Platonic Relationships, Reflection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-14 18:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16498193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Byrdybyrd/pseuds/Byrdybyrd
Summary: “Why?” Leo whispered into the silence of the night. He should be sleeping. God, he was tired. But there it was, his stupid subconscious again. It screamed and screamed at him, demanding attention. He yearned to understand it. Leo could tolerate the constant screaming if it simply explained itself to him.(Heavily inspired by http://sutzrainbow.tumblr.com/post/101809881156/enjoy-the-feels-fest-folks-i-regret-absolutely. There will be plot after the first chapter!)





	Lion-Heart Are You Dreaming?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Tis I, the dude whose name you probably don't know. Anyway, I got this idea after watching Tales of Leo (TMNT 2k3) and Within The Woods (TMNT 2k12) and realizing that Rise of The TMNT really needed a Leo Coma arc! This chapter starts off kinda slow, but I promise there is story to come!

Leonardo Hamato had always been fascinated with the subconscious. There had just always been something special about it. Something that screamed _“look at me,”_ but stayed just out of reach of those searching. It wanted to desperately to be understood, it did so much more than what one was aware of, and yet it shied away from anyone searching for understanding.

It was somewhat tsundere, Leo decided. That was a word he’d learned from one of his dad’s shows. Wanting to be understood and appreciated, but not letting anyone come close? Sounds like some edgy OC. But maybe that’s all a subconscious was; A misunderstood deeper part of ourselves that we reflect more often than realized.

“I never took you for a poet,” Donnie had remarked after Leo shared this information late at night. “But, nevertheless, a quick Google search could give you most of the answers you want about whatever it is that goes on inside your head.”

Leo took Donnie’s quip and tossed it out as soon as he was alone. The answers that satisfied Donnie wouldn’t do much for Leo. Donnie looked for numbers, equations and signals. The world was a machine with working gears and replaceable parts to him. But Leo? He wanted to go deeper. He saw the world in patterns, a fluid system that repeated if you looked close enough.

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes!” Came Mikey’s response. “Do you know who said that? Mark Twain! April just gave me a bunch of his books!” Because what other good ways were there to pass the time besides soaking up a universe crafted by one who’d lived in this one and knew all of its flaws and strengths? “But I think I get where you’re coming from. I see the world like a big picture! We’re all different colors and brushes to give it texture and life!”

Perhaps Mikey was too young to have an existential conversation with. He seemed to take the world for what it was and made the most of what was given. ‘Almost like a picture,’ Leo realized with a small hint of amusement. Mikey was the artist of his own universe, and painted on whatever he was able to with his materials. He never had a second meaning to his reasons.

“Why does it have to be so meaningful to you?” Raph didn’t look particularly interested in Leo’s musings. “Just live your life and be happy with it! You don’t gotta worry about nothin’ like voices in your head or reasons for existence!” Raphael never had liked to plan things out. He just did, and worried about it later.

Leonardo wanted so badly to silence his mind the way his brothers did. He supposed they all had things going on inside their heads. Raph was constantly wondering if he was doing a good enough job leading his brothers, Donnie saw information in places nobody else could dream and was endlessly processing it, and Mikey mapped everything he saw out in his head to determine how one could recreate it on a canvas.

However, Leo was unable to silence the never-ending tempest in his head. _“Why didn’t dad choose me to lead? What if humans just accepted my brothers and I? Aren’t I the funny one? Are we gonna have enough to eat tonight? Will I be able to slip them my food to eat without them noticing? What would I want to be when I grow up if I was human? Why can’t I sleep for more than 4 hours anymore? Does everyone still feel the need to blink when their eyes are clothes? Do my brothers notice how much slower I’ve been going? Why is it suddenly hard to breathe when you think about it? How do I contribute to the team? Why don’t we hibernate or brumate? What made Donnie so much smarter than the others? Why did Mikey have the ability to master any skill he attempted? How was Raph so strong and reckless, yet still so successful?”_

“Why?” Leo whispered into the silence of the night. He should be sleeping. God, he was tired. But there it was, his stupid subconscious again. It screamed and screamed at him, demanding attention. He yearned to understand it. Leo could tolerate the constant screaming if it simply explained itself to him.

Sleep.

Leonardo supposed sleep was the closest state of being to your subconscious. The closest conscious way, that is.

And so the boy slipped into another dreamless slumber, awoken later by his own anxieties and heartbeat.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this! Stay tuned, Chapter One should be posted shortly!


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